Sword Art Online: Swordland
by Light Kage
Summary: Fanfiction of Sword Art Online told in the perspective of Asuna Yuuki. This is also an attempt to go through each and every floor rather than jumping around and leaving us with the mere basics. Possibly even go further than Floor 75!
1. Chapter 1 The First Day

Sword Art Online

Swordland

Chapter 1: The First Day

2022 Month of Ash Tree (November) Sixth

First Floor of Aincrad

My brother had preordered the highly anticipated Sword Art Online along with the Nerve Gear, which was the game system that Sword Art Online, or SAO, ran on. However, he and our Father had to go away on a business trip together the day SAO was officially released. He had told me that I could play just a little before he returned. I have never really liked playing video games, however the idea of an entirely virtual world intrigued me so I plugged the Nerve Gear's power cord into the outlet, put the game cartridge into the Nerve Gear and put it over my head.

The manual had told me to pat my body all over using my hands. While not fully understanding why, I did so before it had said Calibrated.

"That's why?" I smiled. I lay down on my bed, closed my eyes and said, "Link Start!"

A series of flashes went past my eyes, the security allowing the game to start and it asked me for my name.

Asuna

"Are you sure?" the game asked me. I clicked on the YES button. I entered my password, and it immediately said, "Welcome to Sword Art Online!"

A tunnel of blue light sped past by me and the next thing I knew, I was looking through my virtual eyes. I lifted my hands, looking at them and looked down my body. I smiled.

"Amazing!" I laughed. I spun around several times, nearly bumping into several other players that were logging on at that moment. "S~ sorry!" I apologized. I looked around and ran off into a large field.

I saw two male players out in the same field. One had red hair and was knocked down by a blue boar. The other had black hair and looked like some prince. Of course I knew character appearances could be changed at the main menu. Obviously this man was probably some ugly fat nerd with a hero complex. Still, I had to admit that he was already far superior to the red head in terms of mobility and swordsmanship. I looked to my hip and gripped the handle of my weapon. I looked up to the sky and saw the large cloud like pillar that led to the second floor.

This single sword can lead me to the second floor, the third, and all the way to the one hundredth floor. I let out a sigh, realizing I only had this to myself for a few more hours. I took my sword out and walked away from the two male players. Several other boys had started hitting on me. I certainly did not want two more taking interest in me out in an empty field. I found an unoccupied area and a boar spawned near me. Holding my sword out, I swung it down onto the boar and managed to get a hit.

Until the boar turned around and retaliated, knocking me down to the ground. I suddenly wished I had gone to ask the basics from that handsome prince, understanding what the red head was going through. I got back up and got ready before the boar came charging in. I jumped to the right and looked back at the boar. I charged back at the boar, thrusting the sword before it began to glow a bright blue and almost moved on its own. It ran through the side of the boar, and the creature exploded into uncountable polygons.

A square message box appeared at the top saying Results. Underneath it was the amount of XP gained and Col, which I assumed to be the currency of this world. I smiled.

"Yatta!" I shouted, jumping into the air with glee, until several other boars spawned in the area. Nonhostiles.

I gave an awkward grin. I checked the time, 2:00 PM. My brother should be coming home soon so I swiped my hand down and looked for the Logout button. It wasn't there.

"That's strange," I said to myself. I instead pressed the Call GM. It was no good. Although at coincidence, the bell in the center of the Town of Beginnings began to ring. I turned my head towards its direction before not of my own will, was teleported at the town plaza. Other players were being teleported, all with the same confused look I displayed.

"Look!" someone shouted, pointing at the sky. I looked up and saw a red, hexagonal shape that said, "Warning". The same shape duplicated itself across the sky, some saying "Warning" the others saying, "System Announcement."

A red liquid I thought to be blood flowed from these conjoined hexagons that converged into a figure. A large, hooded figure cloaked in red. It stood at the large entrance/exit that led into the plaza.

The figure held out his arms, "Attention, players. Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the only person who can control this world."

Everyone began to question if this was true. Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Nerve Gear and SAO was standing before us? Why? Was he here to explain the lack of a Logout button?

"I'm sure you've already noticed that the Logout button is missing from your main menu," he said before swiping his hand to the main menu.

So I was right?

"I assure you this is not a defect."

What?

"I repeat… this is no bug. This is a feature of Sword Art Online."

A feature? You mean this is part of the game?

"You cannot log out of SAO yourselves, and no one on the outside can shut down or remove your NerveGears. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will act like a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and ending your life."

"What?" I whispered. So if my brother walked in and tried to force me out of the game, I would…

"Unfortunately, several player's friends and families chose to ignore this warning and removed the NerveGear, resulting in the death of 213 players. Gone forever from both Aincrad and the real world."

Several screens appeared around Kayaba Akihiko. "As you can see, news organizations around the world are picking up on this, and reporting the death totals. Thus you can now assume the danger of your NerveGear being removed to be greatly reduced. Please work hard to clear the game."

Clear the game? You mean all one hundred floors! Impossible!

"However, do take note of this. You can no longer respawn in this game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be permanently erased. At the same time, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

So then… when I was fighting that boar, I… I could have… I could have died!

"You need fulfill only one condition to set yourselves free clear the game. You are currently on the First Floor, the lowest level of Aincrad. Make your way through each dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, and you will advance to the next level. Defeat the Final Boss on the One Hundredth Floor, and you will clear the game."

Clear all one hundred floors? I heard that even the beta testers who had about four months haven't even reached the tenth floor! Reach all one hundred! He must be out of his mind!

"And finally, you can find a gift from me in your Item Storage. Please check for yourselves."

I swiped down to my Item Storage, looking for the gift that Kayaba Akihiko was referring to. It said Mirror. I materialized it and out popped a rectangular mirror from nowhere, which I caught with my hand. I looked in it and saw my reflection in it.

Around me, players were engulfed in a blue light until another being replaced them; completely different looking people replaced others. Others, like I, changed only slightly. I looked back at the mirror. I looked like me. I checked my body, I remembered customizing only one thing for my avatar and that was my height. I had changed it so that I was about 1.8 meters in height, now I was about 1.6 meters.

Others around me were panicking. This mirror had the power to change our avatars to look like our real selves. I noticed a change in the gender ratio. Many of the "girls" were now male wearing dresses. If it were not for the situation, I may have laughed. But not now. It wasn't the time for laughter.

"All of you must be wondering why. Why would Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I wanted to create my own world that I could observe and admire. That is why I made Sword Art Online. And now, it has all been fulfilled. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. I wish every player the best of luck."

Slowly, but steadily, Kayaba Akihiko's body began to collapse, turning back to the red liquid and flow back up to the hexagonal messages. Soon, the red sky disappeared, and the beautiful sunset was once again visible.

Everything was quiet. I myself stood in shock, unable to move, unable to speak. The only thought that crossed my mind was the message that the God of this world had delivered. We die in Aincrad, we die in real life.

The scream of a young girl broke the silence. Soon, the entire plaza broke into chaos. I heard cries of pleas to be taken out of the game. I heard cries to see their families and friends. I heard cries of asking why this was happening.

"Hey, can you stand? Hey? Can you listen to me?" a boy asked me. I finally got a bearing of my position. I was kneeling on the ground, sitting on my legs. I looked up at him with teary eyes, which I wiped away. He was holding his hand out. I hesitated.

"Trust me. You don't want to be here much longer. You think this is chaos, things are about to get a heck lot uglier," he warned me. I took his hand, and he pulled me up. He began to pull me along when I saw a brown haired girl who was in the exact same position as I was moments ago.

"Wait, what about her?" I asked.

The boy looked over and nodded. "Lets go help her!" The boy convinced the girl to stand up, and the three of us ran out of the plaza and into an inn owned by an NPC.

The three of us caught our breaths when the NPC woman walked up to us with a smile. "Welcome to the Ichiyuka Inn. Would the three of you like a room?"

The boy nodded. "Two please. One for me, one for my friends." The NPC nodded and the transaction was made. The boy led us to our rooms and we all sat down. The girl and I sat on the single bed. The boy sat on a wooden chair propped to the table at the corner.

"Are you two okay?" the boy finally asked.

I nodded. "Yes thank you." I held my arm tightly to hide my breasts. "But why?"

The boy laughed. "No particular reason. Is it so wrong for a boy to help two pretty young girls?"

I forced a laugh. I looked at the girl who was still a little shocked.

I held her by her shoulders and gently shook her. "Hey, are you alright? What's your name?"

The girl looked up. "Li… Lisbeth."

"Nice to meet you Lisbeth, I'm Asuna."

"I'm Suzaku, a beta tester," the boy greeted.

I smiled. "A beta tester? That means you know a lot about this game already."

"Yeah. To be honest, we should be out in the field right now, leveling up."

I nodded. "Lisbeth, are you ready?"

Lisbeth held onto her legs and fell on her side. "No," was all she said.

Suzaku opened the door. "Well we should go now Asuna. When Lisbeth is ready, she can join us."

Lisbeth nodded. "Go ahead. I just need some time."

I put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed once before getting up, and following Suzaku out into the field outside the Town of Beginnings.


	2. Chapter 2 Resolve

Swordland

Chapter 2: Resolve

2022 Month of Ash Tree Sixth

First Floor of Aincrad

"That's good!" Suzaku shouted as I had successfully killed the boar with the method he had just shown me.

"Your speed is insane!" he said. "I've never seen anyone move so quickly as you!" I blushed. "Well anyway, you're a fast learner. I tried teaching Sword Skills to other players, but they spent half the day trying to get it right.

"I have a good teacher," I said.

He looked at me, before laughing. "If I were a good teacher, I would already have a guild up and running by now."

"I'm sure you will."

"Then you need to help me start it up and teach the noobs."

We both laughed until several more non-hostile boars spawned onto the field.

"Ready to hunt?" he asked. I smiled, and we charged in, slaughtering dozens of boars.

Results:

1080 Cor

864 XP

20 Items

"Nice work!" he said.

"Hey Suzaku, how much did those two rooms cost?"

"Hmm… about a 100 Cor each."

"Then you should take 200 on top the 500 Cor we split."

He looked at me surprised. "Its fine, really. 200 Cor lost isn't going to kill me."

"You never know when you need an extra 100 Cor you wasted on us," I raised my eyebrow.

He chuckled. "Do whatever makes you sleep at night." I gave him the extra 100 Cor. "We should get back to the inn," he suggested. "There's a Raid Boss that comes out during the night."

"Have you fought it before?" I asked as we started walking back from the field.

"Twice. The first time it surprised me at a time like this and completely wiped me out. The second time was right after I respawned and ran back to the field."

"Did you kill it?"

"Only with five others that were attacked by it after me."

"What's it like?"

"It's called The Big Bad Wolf."

I laughed. "The Big Bad Wolf?"

"Don't make fun of me," he turned red from embarrassment. "He's one nasty wolf."

The screams of players pierced the nightly air of Aincrad. It was coming from ahead of us towards the exit of the field.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Shush!" he held his hand to my lip. "Its him."

"Its him who?"

"The Big Bad Wolf?"

"S~ seriously?"

"Damn!" he whispered.

"We need to help them!" I whispered.

"I know, even if we didn't want to, its blocking our way back!"

"What level is it?"

"Three."

I looked at my Status.

Asuna Lvl 2

"How bad would it be with our levels?" I asked.

"It should be fine, but we're playing this death game. I wouldn't want to fight a Raid Boss like him while one level under."

"Lets go," I said.

"What? Are you really that brave?"

"Of course not, but the way I see it, we stay here, we get attacked without extra help. We go now, we lower our chances of dying and have help from more players."

"You're thinking rather rationally," he admired. "Alright then, lets go!" the two of us ran off towards the screams.

"T~ that's him?" I stuttered. The Big Bad Wolf looked like a wolf in everyway except it was bipedal and twice the height of a normal human. Its stomach was receded however.

"Watch out for its claws and mouth. Aim for its back," Suzaku tipped me.

"Roger!" Using Linear, the new Sword Skill Suzaku explained to me earlier, I cut deep through the Big Wolf, lowering its HP by at least an eight of its max.

"Amazing!" I heard the other players rejoice. "Alright! Lets kill this Wolf!"

We all took turns, parrying the Wolf's claws and then striking its back. With the additional support of four other players, we managed to kill the Big Bad Wolf in about four minutes. Finally, it burst into a thousand polygons, showing us the results.

Results:

300 Cor

240 XP

I sighed, almost letting my legs give in when Suzaku caught me.

"Nice work!" he said.

"That was more adrenaline I wanted," I laughed.

The four other players around us began to clap. I smiled, and that's when my stomach began to rumble.

"You hungry?"

I looked to Suzaku with an awkward smile. "Famished," I replied.

We went back to the inn and bought some bread and water from the innkeeper, taking it back to Lisbeth and my room.

"Lisbeth, are you decent?" I knocked on the door.

"Decent?" Suzaku asked.

"You can't just walk into a girl's room without knocking. You might catch her undressing or just about to take a bath," I lectured him.

"You can come in," we heard her say. I opened the door, and I placed the bread on the table.

"We have food!" I chirped. Suzaku put the water down as well.

Lisbeth looked at me as if she were about to cry. "Thank you. I know I must be a burden."

I sat next to her on the bed. "Its nothing really. I'm actually wondering why I'm not doing what you're doing right now."

"Lazing around and being a free-loader?"

I giggled. "Yes. Tell you what, come out to hunt with us tomorrow and I'll forgive you."

Lisbeth looked at Suzaku who was already eating the bread.

"Hey don't look at me. Asuna bought all this."

"The room?" Lisbeth asked.

"Paid it off," Suzaku said. "So you owe her about 50 Cor."

I shook my head. "50 Cor is nothing right now." I swiped down and showed her the 1600 Cor I had. "See?"

"Who was it that said a little money could save their life one day?" Suzaku teased.

I glared at him and he backed off. "Come on, lets eat," I said. I walked over to the bread and tossed Lisbeth a roll.

"Itadekimasu!" I bit into the roll.

"Itadekimasu," Lisbeth whispered. She ate the roll without any question.

2022 Month of Ash Tree Seventh

First Floor of Aincrad

"Hey, wake up!" Suzaku knocked on the door. "You two ready? We have a long day ahead of us!"

I stirred in bed, moving into the fetal position.

Suzaku barged in. "Excuse me for my intrusion, however we need to get moving now."

"Five more minutes," Lisbeth begged.

"You should have gotten five minutes earlier than Asuna. Come on, if you're going to catch up with us, you're going to need to work hard!"

I heard Lisbeth groan. "Mmm… fine." I opened my eyes and saw Lisbeth attempting to get out of bed.

"Do yu need help getting out?" Suzaku asked.

Lisbeth held her hands out, which Suzaku grasped firmly and pulled her out of bed. "Do you need help as well?" Suzaku asked.

I slowly sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "What time is it?"

"5:04."

"PM?" I instantly got a grip of my situation.

"AM."

Lisbeth and I glared at Suzaku. "We have a long day ahead of us," he explained. I sighed and slowly got out of bed.

"Let us take a bath first," I said.

Suzaku looked away and his face turned bright red.

I threw my pillow at his face. "Wha~ what did you do that for?"

"You were thinking of something naughty weren't you?" I asked.

"D~ don't be stupid. Besides, we don't need to take baths in SAO. The system ensures we maintain our personal hygiene automatically."

I frowned. "Even so, the idea of not bathing is unappealing whether the system takes care of our hygiene or not."

"If we stop taking care of our personal hygiene now, we'll get lazy and forget to do it when we return to the real world," Lisbeth said.

Silence creeped into the room. "Do you think we'll get to go back?" I asked not looking for an answer.

"We will, and that's a promise," Suzaku said with a stern voice.

I nodded my head, "Okay."

Lisbeth brought down her hammer onto the boar, killing it. It was around noon by this time and Suzaku and I reached Level 4 while Lisbeth just reached Level 3 after this recent kill.

"Yatta!" she smiled with joy.

"Congrats!" Suzaku gave her a high five. I gave a simple thumb up. I swiped down and materialized a picnic basket.

"Lunch time!" I sprawled out a sheet and placed the basket in the center. Lisbeth and Suzaku took some bread out.

"Not much variety is there?" Lisbeth tried teasing me.

"Humph!" I crossed my arms. "If you think you can get better food, then be my guest."

Lisbeth laughed at my reaction and the three of us quickly ate our shares.

Three players arrived in our hunting grounds. The one I presumed to be the leader came up to us and greeted us first.

"Hello, I'm Cosmos, leader of the guild the Shooting Stars."

"Suzaku of the Vermillion Sparrows."

"Are these two members?" Cosmos asked Suzaku.

"Yes we are," I said. "What business do you have?"

"There is an exceptionally powerful Raid Boss west of here. Are you interested?" Cosmos asked.

"We get half of the shares."

"Of course."

"Well then, we should get going," said Suzaku, getting up.

"Suzaku, what was the reason you named our guild the Vermillion Sparrows?" I asked him as he helped me clean up.

"Its what my name means in Japanese. Suzaku."

I nodded. "Now lets get going, they didn't exactly tell us how far west this Raid Boss is."

"Does that mean you don't know about this one?"

"I probably do, I just haven't seen it yet."

Three high-pitched squeals were heard. Three large bipedal boars from opposite sides approached the six of us.

"The Three Little Pigs?" I read the name that was above each of the boars. "This is some horrible pun."

"This isn't word play Asuna, so it isn't a pun," Suzaku corrected me.

"Shut up," I whispered, pulling out my sword. The fight began. Suzaku and Cosmos fought together against one boar. The two remaining Shooting Stars fought against another. Lisbeth and I fought together against the last. The boars held no weapons, other than their hard fists. Lisbeth would meet the fists with her hammer, giving me the chance to strike back against the boar.

We continued this fighting formation several times until we lowered the HP until only a quarter remained.

"Yes!" Lisbeth cried out as she took matters in her own hands, and attempted a strike of her own. She managed a hit, but the boar quickly retaliated and punched Lisbeth back, taking away more than half of her HP. She was knocked back and fell on her back.

"Lisbeth!" I shouted, rushing to her side. I swung my sword vertically, knocking the boar back.

"Asuna!" I turned around; saw another boar rushing towards me.

'It's too late!' I realized. 'There's no way I can dodge this!'

I closed my eyes in anticipation… the punch never came. Instead, I heard the gasping of pain of Suzaku. He took the hit that was meant for me, and was knocked into me.

"Gah… Suzaku?" I looked at him in tears.

He simply looked at me, unable to say anything before exploding into a thousand polygons. I saw a message that said, "Vermillion Sparrows Disbanded."

I silently cried, refusing to move even when the boars returned. The Shooting Stars took control of the battle, and seven minutes later, defeated the Three Little Pigs.

"Asuna?" Lisbeth asked, shaking me lightly.

Lisbeth looked to the Shooting Stars. "Could you…"

Cosmos nodded and picked me up, carrying me back to the Ichiyuka Inn.

"Asuna? Are you alright?" Lisbeth asked.

I gave no response.

"You should eat something," Lisbeth held out a roll.

"Lisbeth, could you leave me alone? I really want some time to think right now."

She frowned, but she decided to respect my wishes. "I'm going out hunting then."

This same conversation happened for the next three days when on the fourth day…

'Suzaku is dead. That is an absolute fact. Nothing I do can change that.' I looked around the room Suzaku had paid for.

'I don't care if I die anymore. Everyone dies. My life will just be another meaningless existence.'

I finally stood up for the first time in four days, and put on a red coat with a hood.

'Even if I die, I'm not going to lose to this game! I won't give up!'

I left Lisbeth a message, and walked ran out of the inn, and rushed towards Horunka Village, the second settlement on the First Floor. I bought about five Iron-Rappiers, and continuously fought in the First Floor's Dungeon for three days straight.

Dear Lisbeth, I'm heading out. Don't go looking for me. I've decided that no matter what happens, I won't lose to Kayaba Akihiko. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days.

~Asuna

Lisbeth smiled as she closed the message before going to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 The Swordsman

Swordland

Chapter 3: The Swordsman

2022 Month of Camellia (December) Second

First Floor Dungeon of Aincrad

The Ruin Kobold Trooper swung its ax from its side, which required all my willpower to dodge. The monster swung twice more before losing it balance. I took the opportunity and preformed Linear for the third time, killing the monster. I leaned onto the wall and fell to my butt as I continued to breath heavily and reflexively attempted to wipe the sweat from my brow. 'No sweat' I reminded myself.

"That was an extreme overkill," I heard someone say as they approached me. They stopped at about 2 meters away from me. He had black messy hair and a very feminine looking face, almost mistaking him to be a girl before taking note of his speech. I glared at him, not trusting him, or rather not wanting to get involved with him.

He sighed, "Overkill means... in comparison to the monster's remaining HP, the damage dealt was way too much. The Kobold earlier was almost dead after the second «Linear» ... no, it was practically dead already. Its HP gauge had only two or three dots remaining. Instead of finishing it with a sword skill, a light normal attack would have been more than enough," the boy explained.

"…Overkill, is there any problem with it?" I asked as I got up and he got a glimpse of my face under my hood.

"…You're a g…"

"Is there a problem?" I glared.

"N~ no."

I continued to lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath.

The boy looked as if he was hesitating as he opened his mouth several times only to close it and fall deep in thought. Finally, "...Overkill has no penalty or demerit from the system, but... it's bad for efficiency. Sword skills require concentration; using them continuously is mentally exhausting. There's also the return path, so it's better to not fight in a way that makes you tired."

"...Return path?" I asked.

"Yes. It takes about an hour to get from here to the dungeon exit, and from there to the closest town is about 30 minutes, even when moving quickly. Exhaustion increases mistakes. You look like a Solo Player, and for a single person, any small mistake might cost your life," he advised me.

'He's a Solo Player to, right?' I thought to myself.

"...Then, there's no problem. I'm... not returning," I declared.

"What? ...Not returning to town? But... replenishing potions, repairing equipment... and sleep..." the boy asked dumbfounded.

I shook my shoulders slightly. "I don't need medicine when I'm not taking damage, and I bought five of the same sword. ...As for resting, I use the nearby safe area."

The boy looked shocked, as he could not comprehend the meaning behind my words. I decided not to read too much into him.

"…How many hours has it been?" he asked me.

"Hm?"

"How many hours have you been in the dungeon?"

"Three days…" I began to calculate exactly how long I've been in there, "or four days. Is that all?" I asked a little more rudely than I had wanted. "The monsters around here will revive soon. I'll be going." I pushed myself off the wall and slowly, hunched over, walked away from the boy.

"…If you fight like that, you'll die!" the boy said.

"Everyone will die in the end anyway," I replied. Such dark words… I hadn't expected I of all people to be saying them. "In just one month, 2000 people have died, and still not even the first floor has been cleared. It isn't possible to clear this game. Where and how you die... sooner or later is the only difference..."

I collapsed and fainted onto the floor, unable to finish what was in mind.

'Yes, I'm going to die in this world anyway. What's the point? Nothing this boy does now will help at all.'

As I struck the floor, one final thought shot through my mind. 'Finally, I can relax for a long time.'

I opened my eyes quickly when I did. I was no longer in that cold harsh maze I had come to see as my only reality in the past few days. Around me were old trees with golden moss and thorny brushes with small flowers, a clearing in a forest. At the center of a round space of about 7 or 8 meters, there on a soft carpet of grass, I had lost consciousness... no, I had been sleeping.

But… why? How was I, who had fallen in the depths of the dungeon, moved to this far away field?

The answer to my question was found when I turned my view 90 degrees to the right.

At the edge of the clearing, attached to the root of a majestic tree, was a grey shadow. A rather large one-handed sword was held in both arms, and its sheath lay under his head. Long black hair covered his face so that it couldn't be seen, but judging from his equipment and physique, there was no mistaking that he was the boy I had been speaking with before I fainted in the dungeon.

I grinded my teeth as I said, "Unnecessary… effort."

He looked at me and smiled a sarcastic smile. "I didn't save you out of the goodness of my heart. I'm not that good of a person."

"…Then… why didn't you leave me out there? Why save me?" I asked confused.

"I saved you for the map data you had. Staying for four days on the front line meant you should have mapped a lot of the unexplored dungeon. It's a bit too important to disappear along with you," he smiled.

I took a deep breath before saying, "Then take it."

With a low mutter, I opened a window. Navigating the recently, _finally_ familiar tabs, I accessed my map data and copied it all to a sheepskin paper item. I formed the scroll into an object and tossed it near the boy's feet.

"With this, you've achieved you objective correct? Then I will be going now."

I had so many unanswered questions! It infuriated me so! That grey-coated one-hand sword user. Just how had he moved me from the depths of the labyrinth to the forest clearing? Even when I accepted that he had moved me, why not to a safe area in the dungeon, rather than going to the trouble of moving my limp body outside?

Even so, I didn't think it was something that I needed to turn around and ask. Returning to the intensely dark labyrinth, I stepped toward the left of the forest… but, just then...

"Wait, Fencer-san."

'Fencer-san? Is he talking to me? And why is he using honorifics?'

"..." I ignored him and took a few steps forward, but the speech that followed after made me involuntarily stop.

"You, too, are basically working hard to clear the game right? Not just to die in the maze. Then, wouldn't it be better if you show your face at the «Meeting»?"

"...Meeting?" I questioned

After murmuring that with my back still turned, I heard the swordsman's altered tone, borne by the light forest breeze.

"This afternoon, in «Tolbana», the town closest to the maze, the first «First Floor Boss Strategy Conference» is supposed to be held."

I turned to face the swordsman, and agreed to go with him to Tolbana.

As the two of us were walking, people I had seen before briefly began talking behind my back.

"A strange girl."

Suddenly, the boy heard that murmured behind us, and he turned away from me and looked around.

"...I thought she would soon die, but she did not. No matter how you look at it, she is a net game beginner, but her skill is fearsome. What kind of person is that?" said another.

For the past four days, my diet consisted of the cheapest black, burnt bread from an NPC baker had to offer along with a bottle of water. To be quite honest, eating wasn't something I enjoyed even back in the real world. I hated that Sword Art Online had added the Hunger Meter even when everything you ate in SAO would never subside the hunger felt in real life. Just empty, meaningless sensations that were added in only to make the death game more realistic.

I had bought a rather large piece of bread, yet despite its size, it had cost a meager 1 Cor due to its burnt nature. In order to forget it tasted burnt as well, I would slowly nibble at it, trying to force the thoughts out of my mind. When I finished nearly half of my bread…

"That bread looks pretty delicious," I heard someone say from my right. I threw a sharp glance, only to realize it was the same boy that had rescued me from earlier. After all that I had said about being okay with dying in the game, he was still there. My face grew hot as I sat petrified with the half eaten bread still in my hand.

The boy coughed before whispering, "May I sit next to you?"

I don't know why I didn't just get up and leave without a word. I don't know why I didn't tell him to get lost and to leave me alone. I don't know why I didn't run from embarrassment.

He took my silence as approval and sat on the edge of the bench I had been sitting on. From his coat pocket, he pulled out a large blackened bread that cost 1 Cor.

I could not understand this boy for the life of me! Despite being a Solo Player, he looked high leveled, meaning he probably had a lot of money to spare. Why he wasn't eating at some high-end restaurant was beyond me. Either he was a cheap guy, or he…

"You really like this bread don't you?" I asked without thinking.

The boy nodded while raising his eyebrows. "Of course, ever since coming to this town, I ate it everyday. Of course, I like to change it up a little."

The boy pulled out an unglazed pot from his other coat pocket and set it in the center of the bench between us.

"Try using it on the bread."

'Using it?' I remembered what he meant as I hesitantly tapped the lid and slowly moved my finger across the bread.

"Cream? Where did you get this?" I asked surprised.

"One village back, there's a quest called Revenge of the Cows and the reward gets you a pot of cream. Although not many people like it since it takes some time to clear it."

He did what I did, only when he finished smearing the cream onto his bread, the pot shattered. Covered in the cream, the boy without second thought bit into it with a wide mouth. The sound effect of the chewing made my own stomach rumble, forcing me to take a bite, however, tentatively.

I was anticipating for the dry, crusty taste the bread I had been eating for twelve meals had given me. Instead, there was a sweet and yet yogurty taste to it that compelled me to finish off the bread in two or three bites. I couldn't remember.

Having regained my senses, I looked down at my empty hands, and grew slightly embaresed. I had just devoured that piece of bread like some pig in front of this boy. I wanted to run away and hide, but I felt a sense of gratitude. I sighed deeply for the now lost bread.

"T~ thank you," I whispered.

The boy finished off his own bread, and after chewing and swallowing, "You're welcome." He cleaned his pants and gloves of crumbs. "You know that quest I was talking about? I could give you tips on it. With your skill, you should have it completed in two hours."

"Its okay. I didn't come to this town for delicious foods."

"Oh? Then what reason?"

His voice, although not beautiful or melodic, did not have a single aspect to it that made me not want to listen to his voice. I liked it to be honest. It somehow reached deep into my heart; forcing me to spill out thoughts I hadn't told anyone yet.

"I... want to prove that I exist. At first, I locked myself in a room of the city inn. But I decided, if I was going to slowly rot away, then I wanted to be myself up to the last moment. Even if I lose to a monster and die, this game... this world, I don't want to lose to. No matter what."

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Wha?" _'What did he have to be sorry for?'_

"Sorry... The current situation right now... or, in other words, what pushed you this far, in a sense, it might be my..."

The bell rang four o'clock. "Come on, its that meeting you invited me to," I said.

"Thank you for coming today! My name is Diabel, and I would consider myself to be a Knight!"

Nearly everyone began to laugh.

In SAO, there were no Jobs or Classes.

The crowd slowly calmed down.

"Today, my party found the stairway leading to the Boss Room. Tomorrow, or at least two days from now, we will reach it, the First Floor's Boss Room!"

Everyone began to murmur in excitement. I frowned, realizing that the boy's efforts to rescuing me was all for naught. I had barely started mapping out the 19th floor of the dungeon. The Boss Room was on the 20th floor of the dungeon.

"One month. Coming this far took one month... Even so, we have to set an example. Kill the boss, and reach the 2nd floor! We have to show that this death game can be cleared to everyone waiting at the Starting City. That is the obligation of us top players here! Isn't that right, everyone!"

Again, cheers. This time, there were people clapping who were not Diabel's friends. Actually, what was being said was honorable and nothing was hidden. No, it would be strange to even wonder about anything hidden in those words. Right now, I should be like the once-scattered front lines players and buy the Knight's story, and applaud…

"Wait a minute, Knight-san." Again with the honorifics. I suppose it would be the American equivalent of saying, "Mr. Knight."

At that moment, a low voice flowed out.

The cheering immediately stopped, and the front of the crowd split into two. At the center of the emptied space was a somewhat short and stockily built man. From my position, I could only make out a rather large one-handed sword on his back, and some kind of pointed, cactus-styled brown hair.

Taking one step forward, the cactus head growled in a deep, gravelly voice that was the opposite of Diabel's beautiful voice.

"Before that, there is one thing that must be cleared up; otherwise I cannot join you."

Diabel's eyes narrowed for an instant, but soon returned to full smiles and said while beckoning.

"Opinions are certainly very welcome. But, if you are going to speak, you should tell us your name."

"...Hum."

Cactus head gave a huge snort, and then stepped forward. When he reached the fountain, he turned around to face us.

"I am Kibaou. One of you needs to apologize. I'm sure someone here's one of _them_."


	4. Chapter 4 Illfang the Kobold Lord

Swordland

#4 Illfang the Kobold Lord

2022 Month of Camellia (December) Second

First Floor of Aincrad Tolbana

"About five or ten of you needs to apologize," Kiabaou said, pointing angrily at the crowd.

'_Apologize? Who needs to apologize?' _I wonder.

"Kiabaou, are you referring to the Beta Testers?" Diabel asked.

"Keh! Isn't it obvious? To the 2000 plus that have died in the past month! Those bastards' practically monopolized good hunting grounds and profitable quests got stronger without a care for those behind. There should be some in this group, hiding their beta status, some sly people thinking of joining the boss fight. I want them to kneel down once, to the party members their lives depend on. That's what I want to say!"

Nobody said anything. I think that everyone was afraid that if they said something against it, they would have been labeled as a Beta Tester. Although the one Beta Tester I had met was kind and an exception to the Beta Testers Kiabaou was referring to, I decided against speaking against him. The swordsman next to me however was clenching his fist and he started to panic. Just as he opened his mouth to speak…

"May I speak?" said a deep, baritone voice. I looked for the source and found a large man, about 180 cm. His two handed axe was slung over his shoulder as if its weight meant nothing to him. His head was completely bald, and had chocolate- covered skin so obviously he was not Japanese, yet he spoke the language as if it was his native tongue. He walked to the center of the stadium and looked down on Kiabaou.

"My name is Agil. Kiabaou-san, what you mean to say is that many beginners died because original beta testers did not take care of them, and you wish for them to accept that responsibility and apologize, isn't that correct?"

"Th… That's right," Kiabaou said. "If they had not left us behind, 2000 people would not have died! However, they were not just any 2000 people, most of them were top ranks or veterans from other MMO's! If those shitty testers had properly shared information, items and money, then there would have been 10 times the people here... no, by now we would have broken through the 2nd or 3rd floor!"

"I would have to agree with you on your argument on items and money, however I'm sure you mentioned information?" Agil pulled out a leather-bound book with a symbol of round ears and three whiskers; the Rat Mark.

"This guidebook, you got it too right? It was freely distributed from the item shops in Hornuka and Medai," claimed Agil.

"Fr… Freely distributed?" Kiabaou stuttered, obviously unable to believe his ears.

I stood up and held out my copy of the guidebook. "I got one to."

"For free?" the swordsman besides me asked. I nodded.

"You see? There is information. And even still, many players died. That reason is _because_ they were veteran MMO players, I think. They found SAO similar to other titles, but missed a key difference. However, now is not the time to hunt down who is responsible for those casualties. Whether we become a casualty or not, and how that influences this meeting, is what I think," Agil stated.

Kiabaou clicked his tongue in disappointment, and conceded. The two of them sat back down.

"Right then, lets review shall we?" Diabel asked. He pulled out the guidebook. "The latest edition of the guide book is out, and it contains information about the First Floor Boss. According to the book, the boss is named Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He wields an axe and wears a buckler. He has four Health Bar where when at 1/3 remaining, he switches to a curved bladed called a Talwar. His attack pattern changes as well."

Everyone was obviously impressed with the amount of information that was compiled.

"Yush! That concludes today's briefing! Lastly, items will be randomly distributed. The XP goes to the party that delivers the finishing blow and whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?"

Nobody gave a reason to object.

"Okay! We leave in two day's time at 10! Get your stats ready by then! See you there!" he raised his hand.

By then, everyone was making Parties. The boy looked to me and asked, "You were left out as well I suppose?"

"Not really. Everyone around us seemed to already have friends. I didn't want to be in a place where I don't belong," I said.

"Then… then how about partying with me?" he asked. He pushed a series of buttons, and a message popped up in my vision. It was asking if I wished to party with this boy. I gave a deep sigh. I truly did not wish to party with anyone at all. Yet I knew going into a Boss Fight would be haphazard, so I reluctantly accepted his offer.

Diabel seemed not only a capable speaker, but a great leader as well. It was almost as if he was born, or rather put in SAO for the purpose of leading the rest of the players to the One Hundredth Floor. He walked over to the boy and I and said…

"You two, make sure none of the Kobold guards remain and support Group E while you can."

'_Don't interfere with the Boss?'_

I opened my mouth in protest when the boy said, "Understood. That's an important role, you can leave it to us."

"Yes, I'm counting on you." Diabel left.

"Important duty?" I snarled. "A duty so important that we will never once attack the Boss."

"We can't do anything about it since we only have two people in our party. There's not enough time for a Switch and Pot rotation."

"Pot… switch?" I asked.

"Uh… don't tell me this is the first time you've been in a party?" the boy asked, stopping in his footstep.

I stopped with him. _'I've been in one party before, however Suzaku never once mentioned Pot or Switch_.

"No," I replied.

"Ah… I'll explain it later," the boy said. He immediately looked at me awkwardly.

I nodded, "Fine."

"So do you have a place to stay?" the boy asked.

I thought about it for a moment. "Hmm… I want to sleep somewhere where I can relax and rest easy for the Boss fight. The idea of an Inn is extremely unappealing."

"If you search for it, you could find better housing, although it would cost more Cor," the boy said.

"There are three inns in Tolbana and they all look shanty to me."

"Inns? Ah, so you've only checked places that said [INN]?"

"Well yeah, since [INN] means inn," I said with a smartass undertone.

"There are other places you can stay at other than an inn," he said.

I stared at him. "S~ seriously? You should have told me that earlier!" I said with too much excitement.

"Yeah, I've been renting a Farmer's second floor for 120 Cor that has two rooms and nice beds with a great view. You get all the milk you can drink, and there's even a bathroom attached…"

Using my hand, I used Linear, grabbing the boy's collar with enough force to shock him, but not enough to trigger the Violence Prevention Code.

"What did you say?"

"…Nice view?" he asked timidly.

"After that!"

"Milk?"

"Even after that!"

"There… there's a bathroom?"

I let go of his collar. "You said it cost 120 Cor correct?" The boy nodded. "Is there an empty room?" I asked in almost a begging tone.

"Didn't you hear me say I rented the entire floor?" the boy asked.

I collapsed to my knees. "The bathroom…" I said as if I was missing out on something.

"You know I also said that there were two rooms right?" I looked up. "I wouldn't mind giving the other room to you if you'd like."

I got back up and looked into his eyes. "Take me there please! And let me use your bathroom!"

The boy led me to his choice of stay and even showed me to his bathroom. There was a large bathtub in the center of the room, which I was eyeing with much anticipation.

"You don't have to worry about hot water, but even with the Nerve Gear, its impossible to recreate a completely liquid substance so don't get your hopes to high."

I smiled. "It's fine." The boy left me and I closed the door behind me. I looked for a lock, and found that there was none. I quickly threw the door open and looked at the boy.

"I~ if you look… I~ I swear I'll kill you!" I shouted more embarrassed than angry.

"I get it, I get it," he said with a grin.

I closed the door behind me, filled the tub with hot water, undressed and got in.

"…..Ah….." I let out an involuntary soft moan. I had not had a proper bath for nearly a month now. Even though bathing was not necessary in SAO, the idea of bathing sounded so appealing to me that it drew me in closer and closer. Lisbeth's argument echoed in my mind.

_Lisbeth… I wonder how she's doing…_

It came to me then that I still did not know the boy's name. I submerged half my face in the water.

_He's been so kind to me… rescuing me, giving me food, and even giving me a place to stay along with this wonderful bath… yet I don't even know his name._

The door was opened quickly. I looked up, and saw a hooded figure looking at me with equally surprised eyes. Moments of silence grew into…

"KYA!" I screamed. The figure ran out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

2022 Month of Camellia (December) Fourth

First Floor Boss Room of Aincrad

We all stopped in front of the Boss Room with Diabel leading the group. "Listen up everyone! I have only one thing to say… Let's win!"

He opened the large door, and was the first to step inside. It was dark inside, but far in the back was a large chair. Seated in it was what we presumed to be Illfang. As the rest of the group walked into the room, it instantly illuminated and Illfang leaped into the air, axe in hand and landed before us. He let out a roar, and his name appeared over his head. A red crystal-like object was over his name and besides it was four health bars filled in. Several of the Ruin Sentinels appeared as well. With another roar, the Boss and its guards charged in at us.

"Commence attack!" Diabel shouted. And with that, the battle for the First Floor Boss began.

Kiabaou began dueling the first sentinel.

"Squad A! Squad C! Switch!" Diabel commanded.

Illfang prepared his attack.

"Here he comes! Squad B! Block his axe as it comes!"

Agil parried Illfang's axe and Kiabaou immediately switched and landed a hit on the boss.

"Squad C, keep up your guard and prepare to switch!" Diabel instructed. He waited a moment before issuing the order, "Now! Squads D, E, and F, keep the sentinels off us!"

"Roger!" the swordsman said. He parried a vertical attack from one of the sentinels and shouted, "Switch!" I immediately then rushed in and preformed Linear three times in a second, killing the sentinel who bursted into polygons. The boy and I repeated this process and Diabel continued shouting orders until finally, Illfang's health bar reached the 1/3 limit.

It let out a horrid roar before throwing its axe and shield aside in favor for its preferred weapon.

"Looks like the guide was right!" Kiabaou said with a smug grin.

"Stand back!" Diabel shouted as he rushed in towards the boss. He stopped halfway and readied his Sword Skill as Illfang drew out his sword from behind him.

It wasn't a Talwar. I knew this much at least, realizing it was a nodachi.

"NO!" the swordsman shouted in protest. Kiabaou and I were seemingly the only players who heard his shout. "Jump back as fast as you can!"

Illfang leaped into the air, launching itself around the pillars in the room before smashing down, knocking Diabel off his feet. In that moment, Illfang cut deep into Diabel's chest twice before leaping to Kiabaou and the group, giving a roar.

"Diabel!" the swordsman rushed to his side first, pulling out a Heal Potion. All I saw was Diabel refusing the potion before bursting into polygons.

The boy slowly got up, finding his resolve and tightened his grip around his blade. I rushed to his side. "I'll go to," I said.

"Thanks," he looked my way. We ran towards the boss as he said, "Do it like the sentinels."

"Got it!"

We drew Illfang's attention to us who readied a Sword Skill, which the swordsman readied his own to deflect the nodachi.

"Switch!"

I readied Linear, but the boy and I seemed to realize at the same time Illfang had recovered faster than I had prepared Linear.

"ASUNA!" the boy shouted.

Illfang swung down, and with great speed, I dodged his attack, but lost my cloak. Unscathed, I preformed the Linear I had been preparing and shouted as I stabbed it, forcing it away.

My chestnut brown hair began to flow from the momentum and speed I had been moving at.

The boy got back on his feet. He parried once more and I stabbed the boss, repeating this several times. On the ninth pattern, Illfang began to understand our tactic and the swordsman was forced to parry several times before Illfang finally hit the boy, knocking him back to me and we both fell to the floor. The boy's HP went down by half, and he had dropped his sword, so when Illfang swung his nodachi down, the only protection we had was the thin rapier I held out in fear.

Agil came to the rescue and parried the boss' attack. The rest of the effort rushed in.

"We'll hold him off until you recover!"

"You're…" the boy smiled.

Illfang however was knocking around the other players into the air with a single strike ending their lives. He leaped into the air to deliver the final strike to nine players when the boy, fully healed shouted…

"NOT A CHANCE!" as he cut the boss who fell on its back onto the floor. "Asuna! One more hit! We'll do it together!" the boy said.

"Roger!" I said as we rushed in together. The boy parried, I lunged my sword, and the boy struck his sword, once twice, dragging his sword across Illfang's stomach, at last killing the boss.

"We did it!" numerous amounts of people shouted in joy.

'Congratulation!' was written where the boss had died.

The boy was panting heavily as he looked at the items he had been awarded.

"Nice job," I said, folding my arms.

"Excellent swordsmanship," Agil praised. "Congratulations," he added in English. "This victory belongs to you," he reverted to Japanese.

"No…" the boy said in modesty.

Everyone clapped in appreciation. Everyone… with the exception of Kiabaou…

"WHY!?" his voice cut through the air. Everyone grew silent. "Why did you let Diabel die?"

"Let him die?" the boy asked solemnly.

"Don't screw around!" Kiabaou shouted. "You knew about the boss' technique! If you had just told us about it, Diabel wouldn't have died!"

Everyone began to talk angrily.

"He must be a Beta Tester!" someone shouted in hatred. "That's how he knew the boss' attack patterns! He knew but he didn't tell us! Other Beta Testers are here too, right? Come out now!"

Agil and I began to look around. A Beta Tester had saved my life twice, so I had nothing against them. Yet I wanted to know if there were any among us other than the one besides me. Everyone else began to doubt one another. Agil and I walked over to Kiabaou to calm him down; when the boy began to laugh a laugh I didn't expect him to have. That of madness.

"A Beta Tester? I wish you wouldn't compare me to those noobs. Out of the thousand Beta Testers, almost all of them didn't know how to level up. You guys are better than every one of them. But I'm not like any of them," he said, passing me.

"I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test," he said confidently with an arrogant pose. "The reason I knew about the boss' skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors above this one. I know way more information than any information broker," he said with a devilish grin.

"Wh~ what?" Kiabaou asked. "That's even worse than a Beta Tester! You're cheating! A cheater!"

Everyone agreed, calling the boy a cheater. "A Beta Tester and a Cheater… a Beater!"

"A Beater?" the boy smiled. "Has a nice ring to it. That's right then, I am a Beater." He began manipulation his menu. "From now on, don't confuse me with those other Beta Testers." A cloak as black as midnight draped over the boy. He gave a dramatic chuckle, before turning away towards the Second Floor Door. When he was just about to open the door, I chased after him on the stairs.

"Wait!"

He stopped walking.

"You called me by my name while we were fighting."

"Sorry for using it so casually," he apologized. "Or did I screw up the pronunciation?"

"How did you know my name?" I asked.

Surprised, he held his hand out around his head, saying, "You can see another's HP bar below yours, around here, right? Something's written next to it, right?"

I glared at his HP bar, and saw the single word that had been eluding me for these past two days.

"Ki…rito… Kirito? That's your name?"

"Yeah," Kirito said.

I giggled and smiled, "Oh, so it's been there this whole time!"

"You'll be amazing one day," he said. "So if anyone you trust ever invites you to join a guild, don't turn them down. There is a huge limitation as to what you can do as a solo player."

I frowned. "What about you?" I whispered.

He did not answer, instead, swiped his hand down, and disbanded our party. He opened the door, and became the first of us to venture to the Second Floor.

As I watched him leave, a certain aching began that only grew everyday since the day we defeated the First Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord.


	5. Chapter 5 Wind Fleuret

Swordland

#5 Wind Fleuret/ Nezuha/ The First Blacksmith

2022 Month of Camellia the Eighth

Second Floor of Aincrad

It's been four days since I had last seen Kirito, defeated Illfang together and opened the door to the Second Floor. During those four days, I had decided on getting a new rapier called the Wind Fleuret and while it was a strong and durable sword, it was only slightly better than the steel rapiers I had horded during my depressed state. I had heard about the first Player Blacksmith named Nezuha and while I had not heard any referrals to him, there were no NPC Blacksmiths in the Second Floor. Having not gone for any enhancements, I did not know where any of the Blacksmiths were on the First Floor and in my opinion; going back to the First Floor would be such a drag.

I headed for the "shop" at the town square that was Nezuha's to find a Player shouting angrily at Nezuha. There was a crowd gathering and one of the Players that were watching was dressed strangely. He wore rustic leather armor, yet wore a yellow and blue-stripped bandana on his head.

I walked up to the strangely dressed boy and asked him, "What's with all this shouting?"

"It looks like that three horned helmet guy's sword enhancement has gone…" the boy stopped speaking. He looked down to me and stuttered, "Ah… that uhm… have I seen you before?"

I looked up at him through my gray overcoat and glared at his eyes. "Not only have we met, we even ate dinner together and partied!" I growled.

He pretended to only have just realized who I was. "…Yeah. Now I remember, I even let you bathe in my house."

I kicked my foot that was covered by the Boots of Hornet that had a sharp tip into the boy's foot in embarrassment. The boy hopped on his good foot, holding his left that I just kicked.

"Y~ Yo Asuna. Long time no see?"

"It's been four days, Kirito-kun."

"That commotion is apparently, the three horned helmet's sword was given to the blacksmith to be enhanced, and it failed four times in a row, so it became plus zero, which made his blood rush to his head. Well, I understand his feelings though… four consecutive failures."

I shrugged shrugged and commented, "If there is a possibility of failure, this person should be informed. That blacksmith, didn't he already put up a list of the success rate for each type of weapon in his store? Furthermore, if the enhancing failed he only has to bear the costs of the item materials, and not the reforging fee."

"Perhaps, at the first failure, his blood rushed to his head, and he asked for it to be enhanced once more. That hotness and sadness always comes together with gambling…"

"That was a comment filled with feeling," I teased.

"N-No, It's merely a general assessment," he stuttered awkwardly.

"…Well, even I don't think it is not pitiful, but there's no need for such excitement… as long as he saves money for the materials, he can try again, right?" I asked.

"Erm… no, trying again is not possible."

"Why is that?" As I tilted my head, Kirito thumbed at his sword «Anneal Blade +6» hanging on his back as he commented…

"That three horn's sword is the same «Anneal Blade» as mine. Surely, he had also cleared the difficult quest on the first floor. Then, he brought it to a blacksmith NPC to enhance it to a +4. Well, up to that Point Success is really simple. However at +5 the probability of success would significantly drop, and the player blacksmith was requested to do it. However, the first attempt failed, so the number decreased to +3. Then he was asked to enhance it again to regain what was lost, but once again it failed and dropped to +2. That process repeated. After three, four times of failures, if finally became +0… that is why."

"…But, from that point it can no longer decrease, so he can try for a +5 again…"

As those words left my mouth, I realized the point that Kirito was trying to get across, as my eyes deep within my hood widened.

"I see… «Maximum attempts at enhancing» huh. The upper limit of Anneal Blade, should be…"

"Eight times. In other words, four successes and four failures would use it up. So that sword can no longer be enhanced any more."

So ―― This is SAO, where the weapon enhancing system was terrible.

The man who was still shouting was approached by two people I presumed to be his friends because…

"Come on Ryufior, lets go back and try to get another Anneal Blade," said the first.

"Yeah, I'm sure if we work hard, we'll get in a week and enhance it to +8!"

"That… I'm really, really sorry for that. Next time, I will really, really try my best… ah, again, you can ask me to do it again although you might hate me…"

Ryufior thought long and hard, trying to pick his words carefully. "…It's not your fault… I said various things aloud, that was bad of me."

"No, this was supposed to be my responsibility… Um, although I don't think it is a good apology… that, +0 end Anneal blade was my fault, if it's alright with you, perhaps you could let me buy it for 8,000 Cor."

I remember Kirito once telling me that at the current market rate, the obtainable through quest reward only clean Anneal Blade +0 is worth 16,000 Cor. 8,000 Cor was half that much, and although Ryufior's blade had the same stats, the number of attempts had been exhausted and it was now an «End Product». It was now worth less than half the market value, perhaps about 4,000 Cor. It was an exceptional offer, for an apology.

Ryufior and his two friends were stunned and looked at each other, and then all three nodded at the same time.

The two of us were sitting on a bench like we had six days ago and it struck a feeling of nostalgia into me. He had his sword out and was looking at it, occasionally turning it as if he were in deep thought.

"You wanted to enhance you sword didn't you?" I asked him.

He looked up with surprised eyes. "How did you know?"

"Because I'm here for the same reason."

"Oh… oh!" he gave a chuckle.

"What's with that reaction?" I asked.

"Coming from the girl who couldn't even see the name of her party member for four days and then suddenly understanding my intentions… it was just surprising."

I glared at him and readied to kick him once again. He flinched and relaxed when I had as well.

"I've been learning," I breathed.

He sighed and even frowned. He looked around and saw people were occasionally looking at us but turning away the moment they met Kirito's gaze.

"Ah, sorry I just remembered something else I have to do," he claimed. "See yah," he got up from the bench.

"Kirito!" I said, grabbing the back of his sleeve. "You bear all the resentment and hate against all former testers by yourself, I think that's too excessive for you… but because that is your decision, I did not say anything. But, you should respect my choice too. I don't care what other people think. I'll be your acqu… friend then even if you don't like the appearance, I would not let you have said anything from the start anyway."

He looked at me with a surprised look but then gave a soft smile. "I suppose one would call this a Checkmate? You completely got me figured out."

Kirito sat back down. "You said you were also here to enhance you sword, correct?"

I nodded. "I have all the materials." I swiped down and shared my screen with Kirito.

"Hmm… four steel plates, 25 wasps… you should probably get more wasps just in case of a failure."

"Like how many?" I asked.

"Like about a hundred more."

I sat with open mouth. "One hundred?"

Second Floor of Aincrad

Western Fields

"One hundred Wind Wasps in under two hours!" I declared. We were standing in the large Western Field in the Second Floor. I quickly did the math in my head and looking at Kirito's expression, he did as well. Divided between us, we had to kill a Wind Wasp every seventy-two seconds.

"Fine fine! But don't go to far south. You might accidently lure out the Jagged Worm," he warned me.

"O~ okay," I said. _This boy, how much does he really know? And how far up did he get during the Beta Version?_

I pushed these thoughts away as Kirito swiped down to his Character Screen and replaced his leather armor with the Cloak of Midnight he had received as the Last Attack Bonus Drop in the First Floor.

"And lets make this interesting," I quickly added. He asked how so. I grinned evilly. "Competition to see who can kill fifty Wasps faster. Loser buys the winner dessert."

"You're on!" he smiled.

"Twenty-one!" Kirito shouted as he preformed Vertical Cut on yet another Wasp. I smiled. We had been doing that the entire time, which I had started. I preformed Linear twice in near rapid succession, killing the Wasp just as Kirito killed his twenty-first Wasp.

"Twenty-four!" I shouted.

Kirito was charging towards now another Wasp that had just spawned when I shouted out, "Twenty-five!"

If Kirito lost this bet with me, he would have to pay for the dessert of my choice. However, even if he were to win, he would still be paying for both of our dinners, that was the bet. For some odd reason, he accepted the deal, which I had expected him to immediately reject for a more fair and even proposal.

He looked back, saw me flash a smile, and continued to viciously attack the Wasps. "GAAAHH!" he shouted. Kirito clenched his free hand, which began to glow a bright yellow. He plunged his hand into the Wasp twice and shouted, "Twenty-one!"

Martial Arts basic skill Flash Hit. The Wasp burst into polygons. The act of a Vertical Cut and two Flash Hits took 0.5 seconds less time than if he used his sword alone. He smiled, gave me a thumb up, and chased after the next Wasp.

"Good work, Kirito-kun!" I smiled, patting his back as he sat down from exhaustion. "Now lets head back to Urbus for that dessert you owe me. There, you'll have to tell me about that weird bare-handed skill of yours."

He gave a deep sigh.

"Even if it was one wasp kill difference, I expect you to be a gentleman and fulfill your promise," I wagged my finger at him.

Second Floor of Aincrad

Urbus

During the short time the Second Floor had been opened, I had been roaming around for the tastiest thing to eat. I did find this cake shop that sold a cake made from the milk of a huge cow. And while I heard it was extremely delicious to eat, the price was insane! Costing about 2,500 Cors.

The two of us sat in a part of the NPC owned restaurant where we would not get many stares. I removed my gray coat, revealing my face and my long chestnut hair. My reasoning for keep such a coat was one that I shared with most of the attractive female players of the game. From the very beginning, I had been bombarded with tasteless confessions and constantly flirted with. It had been so annoying that even after regaining my resolve to live, I kept wearing this unattractive coat to repel unwanted attention.

Still, the Beater known as Kirito, was predominately described to be wielding an Anneal Blade and wearing a black coat. Not many players could be described as such so Kirito was immediately recognized.

I took a waif of the air in the restaurant The Trembling Cow and was pleased to smell the scent of cream. Kirito took a sniff and smiled.

"So Asuna finding this shop by catching the scent of cream…" he started.

I gave him a killer glare and readied to kick him with my foot…

"…is obviously not the case," he backpedaled. "How did you find this place?"

"I bought the information from Argo-san," I answered.

Argo-san was the girl that had barged in on me while I was using Kirito's bath just days before we confronted the First Boss. She was known as Argo the Rat for being willing to sell almost anything for a good price. There were two things she did not sell. One of which were the names of the Beta Testers and the other being the Basic Guidebook that she had sold for free just before the First Boss fight.

Argo-san and I had crossed paths once again in the Second Floor, which she apologized for intruding in on me during such an embarrassing moment.

"Ah, well you should be careful. Argo-san will sell nearly anything. Client Confidentiality isn't a word in her book."

"So she must have tons of information on you, right?" I teased.

He gasped. "T~ true, but that should cost about 3,000 Cor."

"For something as interesting as Kirito-kun, 3,000 Cor sounds reasonable enough," I threatened.

"Then I'll buy all the information Argo-san has on you. After all, she knows your si…"

"My what?" I kicked him from under the table.

It was at that moment that the waiter came in and gave us our food. If it had not been for that, Kirito would most definitely have answered to my wrath. I made a mental note to myself to buy Argo's silence about anything as personal as that.

In came the salad, the stew and some bread which in total cost 1,500 Cor for two people. I felt bad, forcing Kirito to pay so much so I asked him…

"How much money do you have?"

"Hmm?" he flicked his wrist down… "9,000 some Cor."

"I'll pay for the meal, you can pay for the cake," I made a deal with him?"

He looked at me with surprise/happiness. "Are you serious? Yush!"

I smiled, but began to shift uncomfortably in my seat.

We ate quickly and the waiter slowly walked towards us, pushing the cake on a cart towards us, we saw the magnificence of the cake, which was towered with cream.

Tremble Shortcake. The milk used to make the shortcake came from the female Trembling Cow which gave the name to this magnificent product, and the restaurant that created it. The Trembling Cow was twice the size of a regular Ox and roamed the Second Floor Fields. Many considered it a mini-boss.

The cream that was stacked on the shortcake was made from giant cows, but not of those that trembled. The cake was cut into six triangles at 60 degree intervals. The cake itself was about 1,350 cubic centimeters according to the description and the cream was about 1 liters worth.

"Where did they come up with the word short?" Kirito asked stupidly.

I took a bite out of a slice and after swallowing, "Don't you know? The word short in shortcake does not refer to its size."

"Eh? Then what?"

"Originally, shortening was used to make a cake that was Short/Crispy when the teeth touched it, which is the meaning of the word. In America, they used something like a biscuit as a foundation. However, Japan uses a soft spongy base, so the original meaning is lost. I wonder which type of cake this is…"

Gently stabbing the fork into the top of the triangle, she cut out about 80 cubic centimeters, and the golden sponge cake could be seen from the cross section. Apparently, the insides was four layers, arranged in sponge→ Strawberry flavored cream→ sponge→ strawberry flavored cream. Of course, a real bright red strawberry (or more accurately, a fruit similar to it) sat on top of it.

"Its the sponge. I guess I truly like this type," I smiled a really girly smile.

Kirito was smiling, leaning his head on a hand that sat on the tabletop. He continued to watch me eat when suddenly he sighed. There was only one plate for one person, although the cake could feed two.

Kirito seemed to have noticed me watching him… watching me.

"Go ahead, don't worry," he said in the most gentlemanly state I have ever seen.

"Yeah! I intend to eat without restraint!" I began to immediately laugh and handed Kirito a fork. "That was a joke. I'm not a demon. I'll let you have a third of it."

"Th~ thank you! Itadekimasu!" he smiled.

As soon as the shortcake had been completely devoured, an icon of a four-leaf clover lit up and said underneath it, Luck Bonus.

"Luck Bonus eh?" Kirito sighed. "Increases your luck. But there was nothing those Wasps dropped we can use this on… wait!" Kirito snapped his fingers and smiled. "I know what we can use this on!"

We returned to the town square where Nezuha's shop sat.

"Hello," Kirito smiled.

"H~ hello! Welcome!" Nezuha smiled back with glee. "Are you here to shop? Or for maintenance?"

I took out my Wind Fleuret +4. "Please enhance this to +5 for me? Please?"

"Do you have the materials?" Nezuha asked.

"Four steel plates and forty Wind Wasp Stings," I answered.

Kirito had told me that the base for enhancing was a 70% success rate. That was if I used twenty Stings. However if I increased it to forty Stings, it raised its success rate to 95%. Adding the Luck Bonus, it increased it to 97% success rate.

"Extend your pointer finger," I commanded Kirito.

"Huh?"

"J~ just do it?" I stuttered. He did so, and wrapped it around with my own finger.

"Wha~ what's this for?" Kirito turned red immediately.

"Maybe the luck will rub off on you," I lied. "We're not in that kind of relationship okay?" I was so glad I had decided to put my cloak back on.

Nezuha put the materials into the portable furnace and when it had heated, he added it onto the Wind Fleuret and placed it on top his anvil.

_Please! Don't fail!_

Nezuha raised his hammer, and hit my rapier.

_It can't fail! It has a 97% success rate!_

Nezuha raised his hammer again and hit my rapier again. This happened three more times.

In a melodic sound, the Wind Fleuret +4, from the tip of the blade to the hilt, shattered into polygons.

The three of us remained silent for a brief moment.

Nezuha dropped his hammer, stood up and began to bow repeatedly. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll pay for it in full!"

"No, that… Hold on a second, instead of the fee I want an explanation. In SAO's failure at strengthening… Weapon Disappearance is not an option, is it?" Kirito challenged.

Then, Nezuha stopped bowing and lifted his head. His eyebrows were angled downwards to the limit, and his honest round face was distorted violently. The face that was filled with a pure expression looked as though he could not take it anymore; to the point I felt like saying "It's fine now."

"I, during the beta test period, in the official site's manual was stated, the penalties of strengthening failure are Materials lost, Property Change and Property Reduction these three were what was written. Of this I'm certain," said Kirito. I was surprised he dared to say he was a Beta Tester.

The blacksmith Nezuha, while he had stopped bowing his head repeatedly, still looked downwards as his spoke in a soft voice.

"Um… in the official service, the fourth penalty was added… Maybe. For me, previously… The same thing happened once. That's why, even if the probability is very low…"

Kirito said nothing

Now that Nezuha said it, it couldn't be denied that there was no insufficiency of materials. In the first place, even if Nezuha's words were lies, he was right in front of us, saying that the system did not have a disappearance penalty was like saying the occurrence did not happen. That was extremely impossible.

"…Is that so…" Kirito murmured without any energy, as Nezuha looked up for a moment, and apologized once more in a quiet voice.

"Umm… I really don't know how to apologize… —Even if you want a similar weapon returned to you, I don't have any Wind Fleuret in my inventory… At least… It may be lower by a rank, but will you have an Iron Rapier?"

This offer was not mine to accept. I looked to my right, looking at the silent Asuna.

The rapier user's downward facing face, which was almost fully concealed by her grey hood, gently moved her chin with a sideways motion which could be seen. I faced Nezuha and said.

"No...It's fine. I think we'll make it somehow."

Although pushing away Nezuha's offer for replacement was bad, Iron Rapier was a weapon from the starting city on the first floor, it was unreliable to use on the second floor. At the very least, we should use a sword one rank beneath the Wind Fleuret, the Gaze Rapier as replacement.

"...Umm, hey."

I desperately struggled to open my mouth, and fortunately, continuing the other half seemed to be easier, as I said.

"The Wind Fleuret, although it is unfortunate... but, on the second floor, if you go to the next village of Marome, there's a shop which is selling a slightly stronger one. Of course it is not cheap... but, I would ride that boat, as it would help my budget greatly..."

If MP existed in this world, the words that came out next would have reduced the spirit to zero— as Asuna, in a quiet voice despite being so close, said

"...But,"

The words that came out, seemed to melt the cold night air.

"But, that sword is... to me, it's the only sword..."

That voice seemed to hide something, and I was drawn to look at Asuna's face.

Under the hooded cape, on her cheeks lit by a pale blue light, two clear drops of liquid silently flowed down.

The two of us went to an Inn where I continued to sulk for the next few hours. Kirito had decided on leaving me for the time being when suddenly, the door was forced open and Kirito shouted…

"Open your Item Storage!"

"What?" I asked.

"Just do it!"

I did… and found the Wind Fleuret +4 at the very bottom.

"…Impossible…"

I began to laugh. "If you couldn't find my sword underneath that pile, I would have thrown Kirito-kun out the window."

I stopped laughing for a moment. "But how?"

"Nezuha was in part of a great scheme of stealing weapons. He would take the weapons that have greater attributes than those in his storage, give those to his friends and give the weaker weapons to the customers."

"Are you serious? How's that possible?"

Kirito gave a smile. "Its to difficult to explain and not worth the time. Just be glad I found your weapon for you."

I walked up to him and gave him a kick with my shoe.

"Thanks for your help!" I smiled. "Now come on, I'll treat you to dinner."


End file.
